New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the National Bank Open, citing fatigue, opting to take additional rest before starting her preparations to defend her title at the season’s final major, the US Open.

On the other hand, Spaniard Paula Badosa also pulled out of the tournament with a psoas injury and will be out of action for a few weeks.

“Two players have withdrawn from the 2025 National Bank Open: Aryna Sabalenka, due to fatigue, and Paula Badosa, due to an injury,” the organisers said.

Sharing about her injury Badosa has shared on X, “Due to a psoas injury, I will have to be out of competition for a few weeks. I am going through really tough times. Sometimes everything feels like a tunnel with no way out… but if there’s one thing I’ve always shown, it’s that I never stop fighting.”

Following these changes, Caty McNally and Moyuka Uchijima will now enter the main draw, replacing Sabalenka and Badosa.

After skipping the Montreal event, Sabalenka will resume competition in Cincinnati, where she is the defending champion, before turning her focus to the US Open.

The defending champion Sabalenka leads the main-draw entry list for the 2025 US Open, which was released on Tuesday.

Top-ranked Sabalenka will top the draw as she seeks a second straight success in New York City. After semifinal finishes in 2021 and 2022 and a narrow loss to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final, Sabalenka finally hoisted her long-awaited US Open trophy last year, defeating Jessica Pegula in the final.

However, Sabalenka has yet to win a Grand Slam title this year. All three of this year’s major champions will be in New York to try to capture a second 2025 Grand Slam title: Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Roland Garros titlist Gauff and Wimbledon victor Iga Swiatek.

All of the world’s Top 70 players in the current PIF WTA Rankings can be found on the jam-packed entry list, as the top players on the WTA Tour will head to Flushing Meadows for the year’s final Grand Slam event. Main-draw play at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center kicks off on August 24.

–IANS

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